After a clamor, Yang Yi slowly calmed down and looked around curiously, suddenly realizing he was in a mere cave. Yet, this cave was quite habitable; there were bedsheets, a rice jar, and even some ribbons and plates.

He found himself lying on a stone slab, and as he looked at the suspended cooking pot nearby, Yang Yi’s eyes snapped shut. He thought to himself, "Damn it, what era is this? They still have this kind of thing? Wait a minute? Did I somehow end up in a tribe of savages? But that doesn't fit either; that little girl just now, though dressed plainly, looked like someone you’d frequently see in modern society. What in the world is going on?"

Filled with questions, Yang Yi pondered, when a rumbling sound suddenly emanated from his stomach. "Ugh, I'm hungry."

"If you're hungry, eat!" a voice, steady and full of vigor, drifted in from outside the cave.

Yang Yi turned his head, frowning as he looked towards the source of the somewhat familiar voice. There stood an old man clad in a Daoist robe, with long hair, a slightly thin face, yet exuding an aura of mystery—overall, he could be described as having the demeanor of an immortal hermit.

"Old man, who are you?"

"I..." A flicker of astonishment crossed the elder's face, but he quickly regained his composure, rolling his eyes at Yang Yi before saying curtly, "Little fellow, did no one ever teach you respect for the old and love for the young?"

"No..." Yang Yi replied directly.

"Good heavens!" the elder muttered inwardly, almost stumbling over himself because of Yang Yi's bluntness. He quickly straightened up and said, "Little fellow, my name is not 'Old Man.' If you must call me something..." He then shot Yang Yi a playfully wicked look.

"Shiver!" Yang Yi felt a chill run down his spine, thinking, "Could this old guy be... gay? Blast it all, I've got goosebumps all over. What miserable luck!"

Seeing Yang Yi's face turn somewhat ashen, the elder glanced at him with disdain, clearly displeased. "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking, calling me 'gay.' Heh, little fellow, let me tell you now: you can't move right now, and no matter what you think, I'll know it."

"Crap, you've got to be kidding me!" Yang Yi roared in shock. That little girl earlier was astonishing enough, and now here was an unscrupulous old man. He felt a surge of annoyance, but at the same time, he was deeply confused: why did they both seem to see right through his thoughts? This was incredibly irritating!

"You want to know why I can see what you're thinking?" The elder stared at Yang Yi with a knowing smile.

"Ugh..." Yang Yi was speechless now. Whether it was the smile or the tone of voice, this old man was clearly provoking him. He decided to stop talking; silence was golden!

Hahahaha...!

The elder burst into loud laughter. He glanced at the dejected-looking Yang Yi and said, "Alright, little fellow, you should eat first and get your body right. Then I'll slowly answer all your questions."

"Damn, I can't even move my body, how am I supposed to eat?" Yang Yi conceded that what the old man said held some logic. After all, his body was currently wrapped like a mummy, completely immobile, and any slight movement sent pain shooting through him like lightning.

"Heh heh, just wait a moment. I'll have Lianxue help you." The unscrupulous old man finished speaking and walked out.

However, hearing the name Lianxue while lying on the stone slab, Yang Yi couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation. "Lianxue, Lianxue. She must be a beauty, haha. If a beautiful woman were to feed me, that would be the height of blissful fantasy..."

Yang, at this moment, was indulging in wicked thoughts, completely unaware that a figure was already standing at the cave entrance, coldly snorting, "Stinking pervert. What are you looking forward to? I'm sorry, but I'm just a little girl, not a beauty..."

"Uh!" Hearing this, Yang Yi turned his gaze to the little sister standing there—she looked displeased but undeniably cute and mischievous. She was holding some food, and Yang Yi grumbled internally, "My dear grand-aunt, this girl... Ugh, I won't think about it anymore, or rather, I dare not think about it. Qingming, Qingming—."

"Why did you stop thinking? Did you have some dirty thoughts? Should I give your food to A-Wang instead?" The little girl eyed Yang Yi with scorn as she walked towards him.

Her small frame made her look nimble, and her cute face held an air of innocence. Unfortunately, her looks were the complete opposite of her inner self, as this girl was the mischievous type. Yang Yi felt quite ashamed and couldn't help but recall the other two girls, Li Qian and Feng Jiu. But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he groaned in self-reproach.

"Oh... look at you, you've got two older sisters, have you?" The little girl feigned an air of maturity, a faint smile playing on her face as she stared at Yang Yi.

"Um... could you let me eat first? My stomach is starving. If we keep talking nonsense, I'm probably going to actually kick the bucket." In his entire life, Yang Yi had only truly respected his grandfather, but now he respected this girl and that old man; he felt completely exposed in front of them.

"Fine, come here—I'll feed you." The little girl's smile was utterly innocent, making her seem even better at changing faces than that notorious 'King of Face-Changing.'

In truth, Yang Yi did not know that this little girl was quite kind-hearted. She was merely a bit naughty and very mischievous, but because she rarely encountered strangers, she put him through so much trouble. Perhaps Yang Yi was the truly pitiful one; after all, besides her own grandfather, Yang Yi was the first person she had ever spoken to with her genuine demeanor.

"How did this little fellow end up outside the Cave of the Dead? And he seems severely injured. Good thing I was passing by collecting herbs, or this little guy surely would have died. Hmm, let me think... this kid's bone structure is excellent. Heh heh, I'll reluctantly take him as my disciple. But what if he refuses? Well, I'll teach him a little something first, pique his interest, and then... isn't the rice already cooked? Tsk tsk, that saying is truly brilliant; I am far too smart."

The unscrupulous old man stood outside the cave entrance, full of self-admiration and self-praise, having already decided Yang Yi's future trajectory. One could only imagine the depth of this old fellow's unscrupulous nature.

"Alas—but then again, how many years have passed in this era? I truly haven't seen anyone sustain such grave injuries and arrive outside the entrance of the Cave of the Dead. Hmm, this little fellow is too interesting. It seems, once he recovers, I'll have to question him thoroughly. If he really is that person, then my life won't have been lived in vain." The elder sighed wistfully, musing for a moment before standing firm at the cave entrance, possessing the stability of Mount Tai.

The entrance of the cave was separated by about ten meters. The drop beneath was incredibly deep, how deep exactly was impossible to gauge. However, one certainty was that looking down from their position, one could see Yang Yi's car, appearing as small as a matchbox. This meant the elder and the others were currently at the very, very top of the Cave of the Dead, with the actual entrance far below.

What was strange was the lack of climbing aids—no vines that one could use to ascend. How did they get up here? Furthermore, looking up from below revealed no abnormal features. Even looking down from a higher elevation only showed a T-shaped small slope with a few large trees. It was clear that this cave was highly concealed, adding to the mysterious aura of the unscrupulous old man.

Time passed incredibly quickly, so fast that Yang Yi found it hard to believe. Ever since he learned that the unscrupulous old man had saved him, he had spent half a month unconscious, followed by half a month confined to bed, and another month recuperating before his body was completely restored. This proved that the saying about time passing quickly was no exaggeration.

As the saying goes: an inch of time is an inch of gold; time waits for no one.

As usual, Yang Yi stood outside the cave entrance, staring intently at a stone the size of an egg resting on a wooden stake. He held a horse stance, his waist flat, aiming for the unity of waist and leg, his intent refined. His upper body had just regained function, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead as he focused on the stone. Having undergone half a month of rigorous training, coupled with his existing foundation, this task seemed somewhat easy for him. However, to think so would be a grave mistake.

Because staring at that egg-sized stone required two things: First, one must not blink. Body and mind must merge, and concentration must not waver for an instant. If one blinked, perhaps the body or mind shifted even slightly, and the entire process had to be redone. Second, this training lasted eight hours daily, and as mentioned, if the first rule was broken, one had to start the entire eight hours over. The sheer difficulty was immense...

"Damn it, before I turned eighteen, I was fooled by my grandpa into practicing the Yi Jin Jing daily. After eighteen, I'm being fooled by this unscrupulous old man into honing some kind of mind-reading technique, blast it." Yang Yi muttered to himself, but it was precisely because of this muttered complaint... that a loud sound ripped through the air—"Swish—!"

"Tap..." A crisp, clear sound followed.